The SEEdpatch

Welcome to our garden!

We tripled the size of our garden this year, built 18" high planter boxes, created a complex but highly effective watering system and our experience has taught us that we still have volumes to learn about gardening.

For example, we planted WAY TOO MUCH romaine lettuce!

That's okay, though, because the romaine being overtaken by the cucumbers.

We planted too many of those too.

Anyone want some cucumbers????

I'm not sure we'll ever have watermelons. They're pint-size and slow-growing.

Not to mention they live in the shadow of the ENORMOUS sunflowers.

We can still hope, though.

Onions! (ew) My brother planted these in our garden and all but one plant died.

It makes a loverly little flower and is probably the most attractive plant in our garden.

Aw tomatoes. Yummo! Last year we made the mistake of planting the tomato plants

too close to one another. This year we attempted to remedy the situation by....

repeating the same mistake????

We have an enormous beast of a tomato plant now that began as five separate plants and the beast plant is spawning at least 2 million tomatoes!

Another thing about tomatoes...

They attract mice.

Who knew??

We thought we had some sort of insect attacking our ripe tomatoes,

but insects don't take gaping chunks out of tomatoes. And they don't leave mouse droppings.

((((shudders))))

We were HORRIFIED when we discovered that our garden housed more than just veggies.

A few mouse traps and 14 (FOURTEEN!!!) dead mice later, we may have reclaimed our

beastly tomato plant.

Unfortunately, we couldn't save our snap peas.

Stupid mice.

Grrr...

Corn is super easy to grow.

SUPER EASY.

And it makes us look like stellar greenthumbs.

Earwigs and hornets also like corn, though, which makes

harvesting sort of a pain.

Sunflowers!!

We've never grown them before and they're surprisingly EASY to grow.

They're HUGE and they'll be a joy to photograph when they bloom.

They also attract my FAVORITE bug ever: ladybugs!

Brock has really taken a hands on approach to helping with the garden this year.

He helped eat all the snap peas.

Ma'am

Does this just make your blood boil??
The sheer arrogance....



I recently came across a letter written by an Alaskan Airlines Captain, addressed to Ms. Boxer, or, er, "Senator" Boxer and its phenomenal. It echoes the sentiments of most Americans towards Congress.

Babs:

You were so right on when you scolded the general on TV for using the
term, "ma'am," instead of "Senator." After all, in the military, "ma'am"
is a term of respect when addressing a female of superior rank or position.

The general was totally wrong. You are not a person of superior rank
or position. You are a member of one of the world's most corrupt
organizations, the U.S. Senate, equaled only by the U.S. House of
Representatives.

Congress is a cesspool of liars, thieves, inside traders, traitors,
drunks (one who killed a staffer, yet is still revered), criminals, and
other low level swine who, as individuals (not all, but many), will do
anything to enhance their lives, fortunes and power, all at the expense
of the People of the United States and its Constitution, in order to be
continually re-elected. Many democrats even want American troops killed
by releasing photographs. How many of you could honestly say, "We pledge
our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor"? None? One? Two?
Your reaction to the general shows several things. First is your
abysmal ignorance of all things military. Your treatment of the general
shows you to be an elitist of the worst kind. When the general entered
the military (as most of us who served) he wrote the government a blank
check, offering his life to protect your derriere now safely and
comfortably ensconced in a 20 thousand dollar leather chair, paid for by
the general's taxes. You repaid him for this by humiliating him in front
of millions.

Second is your puerile character, lack of sophistication, and
arrogance which borders on the hubristic. This display of brattish
behavior shows you to be a virago, termagant, harridan, nag, scold or
shrew, unfit for your position, regardless of the support of the
unwashed, uneducated masses who have made California into the laughing
stock of the nation.

What I am writing, Senator, are the same thoughts countless millions
of Americans have toward Congress, but who lack the energy, ability or
time to convey them. Under the democrats, some don't even have the 44
cents to buy the stamp. Regardless of their thoughts, most realize
politicians are pretty much the same, and will vote for the one who will
bring home the most bacon, even if they do consider how corrupt that
person is.

Lord Acton (1834 - 1902) so aptly charged, "Power tends to corrupt
and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Unbeknownst to you and your
colleagues, Mr. Power has had his way with all of you, and we are all
the worse for it.

Finally Senator, I, too, have a title. It is "Right Wing Extremist
Potential Terrorist Threat." It is not of my choosing, but was given to
me by your Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano. And you
were offended by "ma'am"?

Have a day. Cheers!

Jim Hill
16808 - 103rd Avenue Court East
South Hill , WA 98375

The Sleepover

This weekend we were thrilled to have two of our nieces sleepover at our house. It was a crowning moment for me as I'm ALWAYS outnumbered around here and finally the house was all about girl power....

...and Indiana Jones?????

I love my niece Becca. She's nine. And she's a tomboy.

As much as I wanted to have a night of chic movies and chocolate, Becca kept me grounded with popcorn and Indiana Jones. At 11pm

So, with my mind set on being the world's coolest aunt, I stayed up until after 1 a.m. with Becca watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Okay, okay, I'm not THAT cool.

Becca watched Indiana.

I fell asleep 20 minutes into the movie, snuggling 4 month old Rachel, in the recliner.

Every few minutes Becca would laugh at the movie and I would pretend to chuckle too--so that she didn't know I was sleeping. (Cool aunts don't fall asleep during movies, after all.)

The snorning might have given me away, though.

Does this mean I'm getting old??

Goggly-Eyed

No, not googly-eyed....
GOGGLY-EYED!

Have you ever heard of, or *gasp* been accused of, mommy goggles? Its a term commonly used by photographers to describe the snap happy moms who believe that every single picture ever taken of their child is the single most amazingly cute picture in the history of the universe.

Unless you're me.

And then you KNOW that you've got the cutest picture in the history of the universe.

Why? Because I took off my mommy goggles and gave them to Brock.

My niece, Abby, rocks goggles too!

Seven

Seven years ago today I took the hottest guy on the planet off the "market."

Sorry girls.

(what a smokin' hot groom!)

Happy Anniversary, Clarke! I love you!

You've got to be kidding...

Admit One? Admit NONE!

Delivering on a promise to my three year old proved ridiculously unreasonable today.

For a few weeks, we had been promising (okay, okay, we BRIBED) to take Brock to see 'Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs." He is just emerging from his six month love affair with dinsosaurs and this seemed like a most perfect way to end that chapter of his obsession; the cherry on top.

It turned out to be a cherry bomb, though.

We arrived at the Majestic theater 10 minutes before the movie started and approached the box office.

Here is what transpired:

Punk kid sitting behind glass window: I can help you here.

Me: Great. We'd like two tickets to see Ice Age 3. One adult and one child. He's three.

Punk kid punching in something on her keyboard: That will be $13.75.

Me: (chuckling) I thought you said $13.75

Punk kid, expressionless: Yeah, $13.75 is right.

Me: But its a morning matinee.

Punk kid, know-it-all: Yeah. $7.00 for you. $6.75 for your kid.

Me: Are you kidding?

Punk kid: No.

Me: $13.75 to see a 90 minute cartoon?

Punk kid: Yeah.

Me: $6.75 for my three year old???

Punk kid, now pointing out the faded and nearly transparent prices, stuck to the dirty window: Yeah, that's the price.

Me: You've got to be kidding?

Punk kid, obviously clueless: Nope.

Me: Thanks, but NO THANKS.

$13.75 to see a morning matinee, a children's movie no less???? 100% INSANITY.

I dragged Brock out of the theater, seething with fury over the price of entrance. We then drove to Edward's 21, where just six weeks prior we went to see 'Up' with Brock and b/c he was only three, he was FREE. Again we approached the box office and then I noticed it....the price list.
Adult matinee price: $7.00

Children under 11: $6.75

What the crap?????

Six weeks ago Brock could see a movie at no cost b/c he was three. Now, his ticket is only $.25 shy of matching the price for an adult ticket!

Needless to say, we again issued a angry 'no thanks' at the box office window and I dragged my obvious disappointed and confused Brockie back to the car.

You see, its not that we can't afford to attend the movie theater at those prices (we can), its that I CHOOOSE not to pay that outrageous and unreasonable price. Maybe I'm cheap, but I'm certainly no dummy.

When was the last time you saw a genuinely good movie at the theater? We rarely go anymore. It seems that Hollywood has only lowered their quality and standards, while raising their prices. 90% of the time, you walk out of a theater with only a fleeting (if that) feeling of money well spent and agreeing that the movie was only "okay" (and that's just being nice).

I finally feel like one of those OLD ladies who remember when movies only cost $x.xx back in the day. When I was growing up, matinees were $3.50 and night prices were $5.25. Why are they more expensive now? Its not as though the movies have gotten better.

To reconcile today's disappointment, we lunched at Sonic. I'm a firm believer that Sonic can solve just about any problem. Drowning one's sorrows in a strawberry limeade is particularly theraputic.

So, in conclusion, we obviously won't be going to the movie theater much anymore (except that New Moon comes out in November!!!) and besides, within a few weeks time Ice Age 3 will have moved to the dollar theater. I can see $1 being a perfectly reasonable price for a ticket.

We Heart the O.C.

Every year we go to the Oregon Coast.
(except for that year we went to Hawaii instead....)

This year was no exception and we were thrilled with the prospect of our annual beach vacation.

To say that I have a few pictures to share with everyone is a feeble attempt at understatment as I have over 1400 pictures to share!

On my photoblog ( http://charlottes-web.blogspot.com ) I usually post a teaser picture from each session before I have proofed all the pictures and have several to showcase. Consider the picture of Brock on the beach only the teaser shot for what's to come!

Old Glory

On Wednesday, I witnessed the widow of a war vetran receive the carefully folded flag that had moments earlier draped the casket of her beloved husband. One soldier played 'Taps' while two other soldiers folded the flag with ceremony and reverence and then gently offered it to the widow. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life and I found myself wiping tears as the weight of that invaluable symbol of freedom rested on my heart.

We live in country bestowed with God-given liberties that have been paid for with the blood of those who pledged their allegience, their life, to the flag of this nation. Unfortunately, we also live in a country where the government and other corrupt beaurocracies are working to disparage the American flag by removing it from American classrooms and American insititutions. People who claim to be citizens of this great country find offense at the flying of the flag. Why are they so intimidated by liberty? If you can't plede allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, then leave and find a country whose flag you can pledge allegiance and allow the patriots of this nation to revere their ultimate sympbol FREEDOM, their flag.